Brighton and Hove City Council is to launch in partnership with Phlorum Environmental Consultants an Embodied Carbon Estimator Tool, for new housing plans; the first city council to do so.

From the 6^th July 2011 the Embodied CO₂ Estimator Tool will be included within Brighton & Hove City Council’s 2011 Sustainability Checklist for Planning; the first time any council has adopted this kind of tool as part of planning application requirements. Estimations of embedded carbon will accompany submitted plans for new housing developments.

Use of the Embodied CO₂Estimator Tool signals a heightened focus from the city council on the overall carbon associated with developments. Allowing them to go even further in their aspiration to deliver low carbon development.

Brighton & Hove are breaking from the mainstream, as planning authorities usually only focus on carbon emissions resulting from energy use and not the embedded carbon of their construction. Typically, authorities focus on reductions in emitted carbon dioxide as a result of energy use arising from the building’s operation. This is also the focus of building regulations, which are ramping up to deliver zero carbon development by 2016. However, the national approach ignores the carbon emissions resulting from the production of construction materials.

Although Brighton & Hove require low carbon design in terms of energy use in occupation; the tool facilitates a more dynamic approach by estimating the total amount of carbon dioxide emitted during the manufacture of key materials (embodied CO₂). As such the tool enables a more comprehensive interrogation of carbon impacts.

The Embodied CO₂ tool is a light version of a life cycle CO₂ tool that has been developed by key partners Phlorum combined with their development partners, the University of Brighton’s Sustainability Team), whom promoted this as an integral sustainability indicator.

The aim of the tool is to encourage housebuilders to consider the use of lower carbon building materials and components when specifying and designing buildings. This could include higher levels of recycled steel; or timber frame as opposed to concrete. The aim is to facilitate lower embedded carbon construction; an important aspect of Brighton & Hove’s planning policies .

The user is asked basic structural design questions including the approximate size of the development, height and numbers of floors. From this the tool estimates a simplified benchmark based on common housing design specifications given in tonnes of embodied carbon dioxide. The user can then choose from alternative materials specification and construction types to deliver a lower carbon building. With each choice made, the effect of the choice on embodied carbon can be seen.

Feedback from local architects and planning consultants in Brighton & Hove has been extremely positive; with 63% of those trained in the tool stating they thought the new tool would definitely help deliver more sustainable buildings in Brighton & Hove. Adoption of the tool complements and supports Brighton & Hove’s placement within the top three most sustainable cities in Britain, which scored third place in The Sustainable Cities Index 2010.

The tool’s customisation was provided by integral partner and leading environmental consultants Phlorum. Phlorum combined its sustainability expertise with those of Sustainability Professor (Andrew Miller) and his team at Brighton University, in order to develop the tool.

The adoption of this tool heralds Brighton & Hove City Council as pioneers, pursuing the highest standards of sustainability and setting the tone for future housing planning submissions. Ultimately, paving the way for other city councils to follow.

Amy Kennedy – Deputy Leader of Brighton & Hove City Council and Cabinet Member for Planning, Employment, Economic Development & Regeneration:

“It is exciting to introduce this groundbreaking new tool and work with developers to deliver more sustainable buildings in the city. This tool means we can address carbon emitted from the construction of buildings as well as carbon emitted throughout their occupation.

The tool makes it easier for developers to design environmentally-friendly buildings. We already have a great collection of sustainable buildings and this is another step in our ambition to make Brighton & Hove one of the greenest cities in the UK”

Richard Schofield – Director at Phlorum:

“The Embodied CO₂ Estimator Tool is a simplified version of our in-house life cycle estimator tool, but it shows a great step forward for Brighton & Hove City Council as a beacon council in the step to reduce the embodied carbon in our buildings.”

Notes for the Editor

Phlorum is a leading, Sussex based, environmental consultancy. Phlorum provide specialist multidisciplinary environmental solutions to support the public and private sector, assessing any environmental challenges affecting their business.

Phlorum is managed by Paul Beckett, Director and Richard Schofield, Director, and has been in operation since November 2003.

Key services within the environmental consultancy portfolio include; sustainability in developments, air quality reporting, ecology assessments and Japanese knotweed eradication.

Phlorum are BS OHSAS 18001, ISO9001 and IS014001 accredited.

If you require further information please contact ust:

01273 704449 or email: info@phlorum.com

Thames Estuary Airport

We hear the government is considering Heathrow relocation plans, in terms of using two reclaimed islands (totalling five runways) in the Thames estuary.

This topic is on George Osborne’s table after feedback that the UK is suffering economically, due to expansion hold-ups regarding airports; Stansted, Heathrow and Gatwick.

Lead engineer is Douglas Oakervee, who oversaw the successful construction of the Hong Kong International Airport Chek Lap Kok (HKIA). As the world’s busiest cargo and third busiest passenger volume airport in 2009, it prides itself on many sustainable measures. In 2009/10, HKIA reduced over 5,800 tonnes of carbon emissions by instigating programmes of waste reduction and recycling, temperature adjustment, lighting system optimisation and clean fuel use.

Heathrow suffers from operational as well as environmental expansion inhibitors. Operationally it’s limited by several factors, including airspace, the number and length of runways, the area available for use as taxiways and the number and size of terminals and landside facilities.

After examining the proposals, we got to thinking about the environmental impacts of switching to the Thames estuary plans. Firstly, and perhaps most significantly, the extra greenhouse gas emissions arising from the increased air traffic are a concern. If the additional runways are used to even half the capacity as those currently at Heathrow, annual greenhouse gas emissions will increase by 18 million tonnes. To put this in perspective, this is similar to the total carbon footprint of Jamaica, Lithuania or Estonia!

It is unclear what impacts will be seen in the marine environment. The islands are expected to become habitats for birds and mammals, but dredging the silt for development will disturb sea-life. Even when built these new habitats will constantly change – the airport on reclaimed land in Osaka, Japan, has sunk 3m since construction!

If the estuary airport is made inaccessible by car, emissions savings will be realised through the increased use of public transport.

Lastly, and a matter close to our heart here at Phlorum, are the emissions embodied within the construction of the scheme. We are not talking about a new runway here, but a new airport, on two islands, with new infrastructure. An investigation into embodied emissions would take months, but we predict the result would be in the millions of tonnes CO₂ rather than thousands. Just think of all that concrete!

However, the development is expected to be self-sufficient in terms of operational energy (presumably excluding aircraft fuel!). According to plans, underwater turbines, built into ducts running through the body of the islands would generate most of the airport’s electricity needs by harnessing the tide in lagoons.  Further to this, reed beds and bio-remediation systems will treat grey-water.

Heathrow employs over 100,000 people, contributes £11bn to the economy, and is currently operating at 99% capacity. Environmentalists have long been campaigning against a third runway. How will they feel about an extra five in the middle of the Thames Estuary, remains to be seen.

Development is not sustainable without finding harmony between economic, social and environmental factors, and in this case, arguing that the latter has been properly considered is difficult to surmount.

Phlorum won a competition to display their Life-Cycle Carbon Footprinting model in the Innovation Future Zone at Ecobuild last month.

The project was deemed one of 20 innovations most likely to have a large impact on the environmental future of the construction industry, chosen from those who applied for the position to CIRIA. Anthony stood by the model for three long days explaining the rationale behind the method, and the potential of the model in reducing embodied carbon emissions. Such emissions will account for 100% of total emissions associated with a dwelling come 2016, when all new-build homes are expected to be zero-carbon. Through testing of scenarios, it was found that a dwelling built with environmentally friendly yet common materials (such as sustainably sourced timber) could attain a ‘zero-carbon footprint’ after 50 years with the aid of renewable technologies such as a biomass boiler and photovoltaic panels.

The event was a success, with many representatives of organisations displaying their interest in the final product, which is expected to be launched at the end of 2010. The video shows Anthony discussing the functionality of the model with an interested party.

Phlorum embodied carbon tool at Ecobuild 2010

Phlorum will be exhibiting their life-cycle carbon footprint model at Ecobuild. The model has been created as part of a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with the University of Brighton, and the project is halfway through its two-year duration. Phlorum won the opportunity to exhibit through a competition run by the Modern Built Environment Knowledge Transfer Network (a subsiduary of CIRIA), which looked to find the most innovative and creative projects aiming to have an effect on sustainability of the construction industry in the UK.

The life-cycle carbon footprint calculator estimates the whole-life carbon emissions associated with new-build residential developments. This includes the carbon embodied within a dwelling, in its materials, methods and techniques of construction, associated with the use of the building, in the operation of its building services, lights and appliances, and emissions resulting from deconstruction or demolition of the building. The model is intended to be used as a design tool to reduce such emissions, promoting alternative materials and methods of construction, especially those with low embodied energy or embodied carbon. Use of the model could halve the amount of carbon embodied within the dwelling, and help with making the dwelling  ‘zero-carbon’ over its lifetime.

To see the model for yourself, come and chat with us at the innovation zone at Ecobuild, from Tuesday 2nd March 2010 to Thursday 4th.